Meaningful partnerships for sustainable anticipatory action: highlights from 1st Sri Lanka National Dialogue Platform
The 1st Sri Lanka National Dialogue Platform on Anticipatory Action was held to develop a common understanding among those working on this approach in the country. Held from 12 to 13 September 2024 in Colombo, it provided an engaging space for the country’s anticipatory action community to share and exchange knowledge, best practices and lessons learned, and to ensure there is a fundamental change within the country’s humanitarian system: from reaction to anticipation.
The dialogue platform was attended by over 80 participants from the government, humanitarian organizations, the Anticipation Hub and the Asia-Pacific Regional Technical Working Group. Representatives from other South Asian countries took part to share their experiences.
The two days of discussion identified the next steps for anticipatory action in Sri Lanka:
- Establish a structured national framework, or roadmap, for anticipatory action in Sri Lanka, drawing on lessons from other South Asian countries including Bangladesh, Nepal and Pakistan.
- Integrate anticipatory action into national disaster-risk-management policies to ensure long-term sustainability through cross-sector collaboration.
- Strengthen early warning systems to provide more accurate forecasts and effective early warnings; this is essential for improving preparedness and saving lives.
- Ensure the proper coordination of pre-agreed actions among stakeholders; this includes targeting beneficiaries and using technology to operationalize anticipatory action in the country.
Watch video highlights from the event
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There were also discussions about how to secure the pre-agreed financing needed for anticipatory action. Existing mechanisms for financing disaster management generally support the implementation of anticipatory action, but these require more programmatic and policy-level support – including from the government – to be accessible to everyone.
The dialogue platform also identified some broad thematic areas for consideration in the coming national framework, including:
- early warnings (data, triggers and thresholds)
- early actions (planning and operations)
- coordination and governance
- research, innovation and learning
- financing
- policy and advocacy
- monitoring and evaluation.
The 1st Sri Lanka National Dialogue Platform was organized by the Disaster Management Division of the Ministry of Defense, together with Sri Lanka Anticipatory Action Technical Working Group. It was financially supported by the German Federal Foreign Office, the Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance of the United States Agency for International Development, Caritas Sri Lanka, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, the CGIAR Climber initiative, the Asian Disaster Preparedness Centre and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
Photos © Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations